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Doom and Gloom: Rice Football falls to UTSA rain-soaked Senior Day

November 19, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football never got hot on a cold and gloomy Senior Day, falling at home to UTSA in their final home game of the season.

On a cold and rainy Saturday morning, Rice football froze up. Injuries and missed opportunities stifled a Rice team that has yet to complete a complete four-quarter performance this season, despite notching five victories along the way. They did not get their sixth win on Saturday, falling to UTSA in a one-sided result on Senior Day. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

From bad to worse

On paper, the weather seemed to be something that should work in favor of the Owls, who entered their final home game of the season with a slew of injuries at several key positions. Starting quarterback TJ McMahon was unable to go, as were the Owls’ top four corners: Jordan Dunbar, Sean Fresch, Lamont Narcisse and Jojo Jean.

From a personnel standpoint, an ugly game with lot of running and field position battles was much preferred to an aerial back-and-forth against the Roadrunners and star quarterback Frank Harris.

Rice did get an ugly game, but the weather wasn’t at fault.

Quarterback Wiley Green was injured on the Owls’ second possession, getting blasted from behind and fumbling in the process. UTSA recovered and scored their second-consecutive touchdown on as many plays.

The Owls’ defense opened the game three-and-out and Green hit Bradley Rozner on a slant to get Rice out of the shadow of their own endzone. Then the drive stalled on fourth and one, Rice punted, and the tumultuous sequence of injuries and turnovers commenced.

Turnovers fall, but it’s not enough

At some point, the turnovers that have plagued Rice football this season were going to stop, or at the very least, they would slow down. Despite the Owls’ issues with protecting the football, tipped passes and fumbles from a myriad of different players seemed unlikely to persist forever. Despite the injuries and bad weather, Rice did a good job protecting the football against UTSA.

In their first 10 games, Rice won the turnover battle twice. They were +5 against McNeese and +1 against UAB. They won both games. Against FBS opponents, Rice hadn’t forced more than two turnovers in a game this season whereas they’d produced at least three giveaways four times.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice Football vs UTSA

Against UTSA, Rice forced two turnovers. George Nykawol knocked the ball out himself and Myron Morrison made a play in coverage to intercept Frank Harris.

The Owls’ first turnover on offense came on a play in which Green was injured, with pressure coming unblocked off the edge. It’s not excusable by any means, but it wasn’t a lapse by a ballcarrier or decision-maker, the Achilles’ heel of the offense to this point. That came the very next drive when Kobie Campbell put the ball on the deck.

The third turnover came on an errant pass from Itraish, who was subsequently benched for true freshman AJ Padgett. That gave Rice a minus differential in the turnover margin once again.

It all comes down to quarterback, again

Watching Green leave with an injury with TJ McMahon standing on the sideline, already ruled out, was a gut punch for a Rice offense that has taken such large strides this season. Trailing at home with a backup, backup quarterback, there were two plays that highlighted what could have been.

With Shawqi Itraish at quarterback early in the second quarter and Rice trailing 21-0, Isaiah Esdale burst through double coverage on the far side of the field. He had seven yards on both defenders and plenty of green grass in front of him. It was a walk in touchdown. Itraish underthrew all three players, incomplete. Rice got no points on the drive.

Following a turnover by the Roadrunners shortly after, Rice dialed up a double reverse pass. The ball was tossed back to Itraish who had Bradley Rozner wide open down the field. He couldn’t release the ball quick enough, throwing it into the ground. Once more, no points.

It’s not all Itraish’s fault, but these two moments do highlight the challenges of calling an offense in the rain with your third string redshirt freshman quarterback at the controls. It’s hard. And you can’t miss your opportunities. On Saturday, Rice did and the result was, unfortunately, predictable.

The silver lining, if there was one, was an intriguing debut by true freshman AJ Padgett. He connected on a 43-yard touchdown pass to Bradley Rozner on fourth down in the fourth quarter. Could he see action in the season finale against UTSA? At this point, anything seems feasible.

One more?

As soon as the clock hit zero at Rice Stadium a few weeks ago, securing an upset for the visiting Charlotte 49ers, it seemed more likely than not that the Owls would find themselves here.

Defeating Western Kentucky or UTSA didn’t seem completely far-fetched, but the wiggle-room in the Owls’ search for six wins had evaporated. They needed to win one of their final three to reach that mark, but that stretch included games against the top three teams in the standings.

Now, it all comes down to this. Rice sits at 5-6, losers of back-to-back games for the first time this season. They travel to North Texas next weekend, in need of that final elusive win to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014.

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Death, Taxes, Wiley Green and injuries

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Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: AJ Padgett, Bradley Rozner, game recap, George Nyakwol, Jojo Jean, Jordan Dunbar, Lamont Narcisse, Myron Morrison, Rice Football, Sean Fresch, Shawqi Itraish, TJ McMahon, Wiley Green

Rice Football 2022: WKU Game Week Practice Report

November 9, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football travels to WKU this week with bowl aspirations in their sights. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

The final quarter of a rigorous 2022 Rice football schedule begins this week with a road trip to Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are just ahead of the Owls in the current conference standings with both teams in need of one more win to reach bowl eligibility (WKU needs seven wins this year because of their 13th game with a trip to Hawaii).

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This week’s roundup focuses in on a new adversary the Owls are facing this week, stakes for this game, the offensive line, special teams adjustments, a few individual standouts and more.

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Rice Football vs the Flu

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Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Chris conti, Christian VanSickle, Clay Servin, Ethan Onianwa, Gabe Taylor, George Nyakwol, Isaac Klarkowski, Isaiah Esdale, John Long, Kirk Lockhart, Myron Morrison, practice notes, Rice Football, Shea Baker, Wiley Green

Rice Football 2022: UTEP Game Week Practice Report

November 2, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football hosts UTEP this weekend in a Thursday night affair in need of a bounce-back win. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

No longer undefeated at home this season, Rice football completes a brief two-game homestand in search of win number five, facing the UTEP Miners. Both teams need this game in their quest for bowl eligibility. To get that victory, Rice has some improvements they’ll need to make.

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This week’s roundup focuses in on specific adjustments both sides of the ball are making following the Charlotte loss and the ever-evolving injury front.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: Andrew Awe, Ari Broussard, Cam Montgomery, Cedric Patterson, George Nyakwol, Isaac Klarkowski, John Long, Juma Otoviano, Kirk Lockhart, Myron Morrison, Plae Wyatt, practice notes, Rice Football, Shea Baker, TJ McMahon, Treshawn Chamberlain

Rice Football 2022: Charlotte Game Week Practice Report

October 27, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football hosts Charlotte this weekend in search of win number five. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Undefeated at home this season, Rice football returns to South Main as heavy favorites against Charlotte. The Owls won’t be taking the 49ers lightly, and have said as much, addressing some key concerns in practice this week.

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This week’s roundup focuses in on Juma Otoviano and the running back room, the trenches, and injuries as well as some individual highlights from the week.

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Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Andrew Awe, Ari Broussard, Cedric Patterson, Chris conti, Daveon Hook, De'Braylon Carroll, John Hughes, John Long, Juma Otoviano, Myron Morrison, practice notes, Rice Football, Sean Fresch, Shea Baker, TJ McMahon, Trey Schuman, Uriah West

Rice Football 2022: LA Tech Game Week Practice Report

October 20, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football visits Louisiana Tech this weekend for their final time in Conference USA play. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Back in action after a Week 7 loss to FAU, Rice football enters the weekend as road favorites for only the second time under head coach Mike Bloomgren. They’ve got to get the offense going this weekend against Louisiana Tech and they’ve made some plans to do just that.

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This week’s roundup highlights what the team is doing to get the running game going, injury updates (both good and bad) as well as some individual highlights from the week.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Aidan Siano, Andrew Awe, Ari Broussard, Braedon Nutter, Cam Montgomery, Cedric Patterson, Clay Servin, Dean Connors, Ethan Onianwa, Gabe Taylor, George Nyakwol, Isaiah Esdale, John Hughes, John Long, Kenny Seymour, Kirk Lockhart, Marcus Williams, Miles Mccord, Myron Morrison, Peyton Stevenson, practice notes, Rice Football, Shea Baker, TJ McMahon, Uriah West

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